Canada's F-35 purchase plagued by cost increases and delays: AG report
Article content
OTTAWA — Canada's plan to replace its aging CF-18 fighter jets with American-made F-35s is now expected to cost $27.7 billion — nearly 50 per cent more than the original estimate in 2022 — plus another $5.5 billion to achieve full operation capacity.
Those are some of the findings made by Auditor General Karen Hogan, who tabled a report in the House of Commons on Tuesday. Her audit focused on whether the Department of National Defence (DND) would deliver the country's fighter capability on time and on budget.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vancouver Sun
37 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Chrétien offers advice to Carney on dealing with Trump as Canada prepares to host G7
OTTAWA — Three days before G7 leaders converge on Kananaskis, Alta., former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has some advice for Prime Minister Mark Carney for dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. 'If he has decided to make a show, to be in the news, he will do something crazy. So let him do it. Keep talking normally,' Chrétien said of Trump to attendees of a pre-G7 conference organized by the University of Calgary on Thursday. 'He tends to be a bully once in a while, and don't lose your cool when you have a bully in front of you… unless you grab him by the neck,' he added, earning laughs from the crowd for the reference to his famous 1996 'Shawinigan Handshake' with a protester's throat . Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Chrétien's advice to Carney comes as the Canadian government is avidly working to ensure that this G7 — scheduled from June 15 to 17 — doesn't end in the same disarray as the 2018 edition in Charlevoix, Que. At the time, Trump and the U.S. had initially agreed to sign on to the final joint statement, only to pull out in spectacular fashion via a Tweet lobbed from Air Force One calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'dishonest and weak' over criticism of American tariffs. During a background briefing for reporters Thursday, a senior government official highlighted that Canada had proposed a different route to its G7 partners, the U.S., France, the U.K., Japan, Italy and Germany. Instead of a single comprehensive joint statement agreed upon by all parties at the end of the meeting, sherpas — the top bureaucrats for each G7 country — and their teams are currently working on six smaller joint statements. The statements are expected to focus on similar topics as the leaders' meeting sessions: wildfires, critical minerals, immigration and migrant flows, foreign interference and transnational repression, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Essentially, parties have agreed to separate the typical comprehensive joint statement into mini statements that can be released as countries agree on the content. The new format is meant to address fears that consensus may not be reached on specific topics, which risks kiboshing the entire communiqué. 'The G7 is a group where consensus is essential. For us, it's important to find the subjects on which we can find consensus,' the government official explained. 'We want action, so that's the reason why we have statements on certain topics, like critical minerals.' As is the case for most diplomatic gatherings, much of the text will be decided between sherpas and diplomatic corps before foreign leaders even step foot in Canada. Asked if there was a certain anticipation about how Trump may act at the G7, Germany's ambassador to Canada Mattias Lüttenberg said that dialogue is key when tensions are high. 'It's just so important to talk to each other and not just, as we say in Germany, pull up your eyebrows and crinkle your nose,' he said in an interview. 'We have to talk to one another. We have to find a common ground and work jointly for the interest of our security, of our economies and of our people.' Trump comes to Canada as both countries are reportedly actively exchanging draft deals to put an end to at least some of the U.S. tariffs implemented by the Americans this year and corresponding Canadian counter-tariffs. The tariffs that Trump imposed against key Canadian sectors, such as steel, aluminium and foreign autos, as well as baseline 10 per cent border levies against virtually every other country are certain to be top of mind throughout the two days of discussions. There is a stark contrast between the summit's key themes under Carney and those of the last Canadian G7 presidency in 2018 under Justin Trudeau. Seven years ago, leaders discussed topics such as gender equality and women's empowerment, climate change and clean energy, 'investing in growth that works for everyone' and global peace. Fast forward to this weekend and the topics sound a little more appealing to a former central bank governor, with no clear mention of gender, equality or climate change topics. 'I would say that climate is actually integrated quite significantly in our agenda,' the Canadian senior government official countered to inquisitive reporters Thursday, arguing there was some continuity in topics such as artificial intelligence and critical minerals. 'Critical minerals are essential to tackling climate change, given that they are required for the energy transition,' she noted. 'Clearly, climate change is one of the factors behind the increased incidence of wildfires.' On Thursday, Canadian officials warned that this summer is lining up to be the second worst wildfire season in Canadian history. Leaders from non-G7 countries will also be in attendance, namely the heads of Ukraine, Mexico, India, Australia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Brazil. As the host of the event, Carney is expected to have bilateral meetings with each other leader in attendance. Canada had invited the crown prince and de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, but he declined the invitation for unspecified reasons. The crown prince's refusal to attend may have been a relief for some Liberals though, as Canada has frequently criticized the country's spotty human rights record. Carney is also already contending with growing strife over his decision to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sikh activists, organizations, community leaders, as well as some Liberal MPs, have been speaking out about Canada's decision to invite Modi in light of statements made by the RCMP that it has evidence showing India's government is involved in violent crimes in Canada. The senior Canadian government official said Thursday that transnational repression will be a 'specific focus' of discussions during the summit. National Post, with files from Stephanie Taylor cnardi@ Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here . Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Calgary Herald
38 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
Chrétien offers advice to Carney on dealing with Trump as Canada prepares to host G7
OTTAWA — Three days before G7 leaders converge on Kananaskis, Alta., former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has some advice for Prime Minister Mark Carney for dealing with U.S. President Donald Trump. Article content 'If he has decided to make a show, to be in the news, he will do something crazy. So let him do it. Keep talking normally,' Chrétien said of Trump to attendees of a pre-G7 conference organized by the University of Calgary on Thursday. Article content Article content Article content 'He tends to be a bully once in a while, and don't lose your cool when you have a bully in front of you… unless you grab him by the neck,' he added, earning laughs from the crowd for the reference to his famous 1996 'Shawinigan Handshake' with a protester's throat. Article content Article content Chrétien's advice to Carney comes as the Canadian government is avidly working to ensure that this G7 — scheduled from June 15 to 17 — doesn't end in the same disarray as the 2018 edition in Charlevoix, Que. Article content At the time, Trump and the U.S. had initially agreed to sign on to the final joint statement, only to pull out in spectacular fashion via a Tweet lobbed from Air Force One calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'dishonest and weak' over criticism of American tariffs. Article content During a background briefing for reporters Thursday, a senior government official highlighted that Canada had proposed a different route to its G7 partners, the U.S., France, the U.K., Japan, Italy and Germany. Article content Article content Instead of a single comprehensive joint statement agreed upon by all parties at the end of the meeting, sherpas — the top bureaucrats for each G7 country — and their teams are currently working on six smaller joint statements. Article content Article content The statements are expected to focus on similar topics as the leaders' meeting sessions: wildfires, critical minerals, immigration and migrant flows, foreign interference and transnational repression, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. Article content Essentially, parties have agreed to separate the typical comprehensive joint statement into mini statements that can be released as countries agree on the content. The new format is meant to address fears that consensus may not be reached on specific topics, which risks kiboshing the entire communiqué. Article content 'The G7 is a group where consensus is essential. For us, it's important to find the subjects on which we can find consensus,' the government official explained. 'We want action, so that's the reason why we have statements on certain topics, like critical minerals.'
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Government told Liberal MP to shelve motion on honorary citizenship for Jimmy Lai
The government's leader in the House of Commons told the Liberal MP spearheading a drive to grant jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai honorary citizenship to shelve a motion supporting its award, just before she was about to present it on Wednesday. Judy Sgro, a veteran Liberal MP, had gained the support of MPs from all parties for a unanimous consent motion raising the plight of Mr. Lai, who has been held in solitary confinement for four and a half years. Mr. Lai, a British citizen and publisher of the now shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested in Hong Kong on conspiracy and sedition charges in December, 2020. The businessman, who has close family and business ties to Canada, has been in a maximum-security prison, and denied bail and a trial by jury. He is on trial for violating a Beijing-imposed national-security law that critics say is emblematic of the erosion of rights and freedoms in the former British colony. Ms. Sgro said there is support across Parliament to award him honorary citizenship. And she was surprised to be approached by Steven MacKinnon, the government House leader, on Wednesday and told she could not present it. 'I had everybody on side and ready to move forward yesterday at noon. But then somewhere, something went off the rails,' she said on Thursday. 'Parliamentarians that have come to me and say, like, what happened? When they came and told me, and you can't do that. And I said, I'm going to do it anyway. I was furious with them.' 'He was clearly very frustrated with having to come to me and tell me this, because he knew how much I had been working on it,' she said of Mr. MacKinnon. Ms. Sgro said she plans to persevere, saying that she had planned for the motion to be passed before the G7 leaders' summit starting in Alberta this weekend. Ottawa under pressure to raise plight of Jimmy Lai at G7 summit Mr. Lai's lawyers say that granting him honorary citizenship could prove enormously important for Mr. Lai's case, raising the profile of his case and placing an onus on Canada to help him. Russian dissident and pro-democracy leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, was granted honorary Canadian citizenship by unanimous consent of Parliament in June, 2023, and released from Russian prison last year. In 2023, the House of Commons and Senate passed unanimous consent motions urging Mr. Lai's release. The government has been reviewing the use of unanimous consent motions, including by the NDP, which was angry to have been denied the right to present such as motion about children from Ukraine. In a statement, the Government House Leader's Office said it would not comment on the 'specific case' of Mr. Lai. But it said a unanimous consent motion was not the appropriate vehicle for a major foreign policy matter. 'As it relates to unanimous consent motions in general, we do not believe that serious and substantive foreign policy issues should be decided without any debate. A unanimous consent motion does not allow for any debate before a decision is taken,' the statement said. 'There are other tools that MPs can use, such as Private Members' Motions and committee studies to raise issues of importance, and this will ensure that MPs get a chance to participate in a debate before making a decision.' Brandon Silver, director of policy and programs at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, said in a statement that 'procedural delays should not slow down a life-saving effort to demonstrate Parliament's support for Mr. Lai, a 77 year old diabetic being held in torturous conditions.' 'His life is on the line and time is of the essence,' he added. NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said the immigration minister Lena Diab has the power to grant Mr. Lai honorary citizenship and should do so before the G7 summit, when world leaders are gathering.
